Landing an investment banking job is extremely competitive, so it’s crucial to make a strong impression in interviews. One of the most common questions asked is ‘walk me through your resume’. This tests your communication skills, career narrative and ability to highlight transferable skills. Although non-finance backgrounds are common, you must convincingly convey your fit. Thorough preparation is key – research the firm, role and required competencies. When responding, logically guide the interviewer through your background, emphasizing passion for finance, relevant coursework, modeling skills and strong work ethic. Share anecdotes that position you as a quick learner who takes initiative and delivers results. Concluding with how your experiences led you to investment banking completes the story. With practice and tactical framing, you can master this question and wow interviewers.
Research the Role and Tailor Your Pitch
Success begins with understanding the role and required competencies. Study the bank’s website and networking to identify must-have technical abilities, soft skills and proven credentials for the position. This allows you to frame past experiences to showcase alignment. For example, highlight coursework in accounting, financial modeling and business strategy as proof you can fulfill the technical aspects. Describe times you influenced outcomes, managed teams or drove initiatives to convey leadership. Use natural segues like ‘My initial interest in finance began when…’ to weave in the story arc.
Spotlight Transferable Skills
Don’t just recite your resume – provide color and connect the dots on how each experience bolsters your candidacy. For non-traditional paths, draw parallels between past roles and investment banking demands. A teacher might emphasize communicating complex ideas, managing large workloads and taking initiative. Transitioning from engineering could spotlight analytical problem solving, attention to detail and collaborating with cross-functional teams. You needn’t have direct finance exposure if you can convincingly sell transferable skills.
Emphasize Passion and Preparedness for Finance
Convey genuine excitement for investment banking throughout your answer. Weave in how experiences like case competitions, stock-pitching clubs, informational interviews and finance-oriented classes fueled your interest in the field. Spotlight networking with professionals to exhibit preparedness and understanding of the role’s demands. Discuss motivations beyond compensation, like intellectual challenge, high impact and steep learning curves. This convinces interviewers your commitment to finance is authentic.
Close with Your Career Progression Narrative
End your walkthrough by directly linking your background and growth to a natural career progression in investment banking. Comments like ‘Speaking with investment bankers during my internship inspired me to pursue the field’ or ‘My skillset gained in equity research roles make me an ideal candidate for investment banking’ provide coherence. This completes the narrative and compels interviewers to envision you thriving in the job.
Mastering ‘walk me through your resume’ questions in investment banking interviews requires understanding the role, planning relevant anecdotes, spotlighting transferable skills, conveying genuine passion for finance and framing your background as preparation for the field. With practice and tactical framing, non-traditional experiences can strengthen your candidacy rather than undermine it. Preparation and strategic articulation make all the difference.